Cheerful and Colorful Paintings

Cheerful and Colorful Paintings in Oil, Acrylic, Mixed Media and Collage
nancystandlee@sbcglobal.net

Monday, October 31, 2011

Torn Painted Paper Collage ~ Mixed Media Goat Collage ~ "Fort Worth Billy~ by Texas Daily Painter Nancy Standlee

"Fort Worth Billy"    SOLD
8"x8" painted paper mixed media collage on canvas board

"Fort Worth Billy" was exhibited and sold at the historic Shanley House Gallery in Granbury, TX. I will be teaching a 2 day portrait collage workshop there November 29 and 30. See my blog post HERE for additional information.

Plein Air:
I have recently been posting about painting plein air and suggesting materials and equipment that is suitable for painting outdoors. During the recent workshop in Sonoma CA with Kathleen Elsey she had a cart that carries a lot of supplies if you drive to the location but it might not be suitable if flying. Jerry's Artarama has it and the seat can be used for sitting or a display of your art supplies. Click HERE to read more about the ArtComber. 

Kathleen and the ArtComber
This is an invitation to show up next year 2012 for the TSU homecoming and "bleed purple". Some of the members of classes from the graduation classes of 1956 and 1957 have been meeting there for several years and we need you to come join us so we can hear some new stories!! There is an alumni dinner on Friday evening in October and a parade on Saturday morning and then lunches celebrating the 50 year class. Search for Tarleton State University and Hey Oscar P on FaceBook. 
Here is a video that tells a little about the spirit organization Purple Poo TTS/TTP and about 1:57 minutes in there is a photograph with me holding a "rack Ranger sign"..2nd from left on the end. I invite TSU alumni to join us next year in Stephenville to "feel the purple rush". 
VIDEO:
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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Fall Art Shows ~ Kathleen Elsey Workshop Slide Show ~ Texas Daily Painter Nancy Standlee



 These 3 paintings were delivered to the Dutch Art Gallery Tuesday  in Dallas for the Artists of Texas third annual juried membership show November 5 - December 31, 2011. Save the date for the reception Saturday November 5, 11:00 - 4:00.

The LGAA Fall show ends this weekend in Granbury at the Historic Shanley House Gallery, 224 No. Travis, Granbury, TX. across from the Hood County Library. Calypso Dreams won an honorable mention in this show.

Two of my pieces are entered into the Arlington Museum of Art annual Community Art Showcase. Reception is October 28, 6:30 - 9:00 for the 6 week exhibit to celebrate the vitality of visual art in the metroplex. The exhibit is varied in media and subject matter. Visit 201 West Main St, downtown Arlington TX 76010.

 Workshops:
I will be teaching a 2 day portrait torn paper collage in Granbury with the Lake Granbury Art Association November 29 and 30. Contact Littlejohndj@charter.net if you are interested. Participants don't have to be an artist OR even be able to draw but a good attitude and willingness to take a risk and experiment is a must. If you enjoy designing and tearing and gluing paper, sign up. Here is a previous work I posted on this blog of my son and his dog and my daughter done in the torn paper collage method we will use in the workshop.

  To see more of Kathleen's work and her list of workshops HERE is the link to her website: 

Below in the slide show I have posted some of the work done in the Kathleen Elsey plein air workshop in Sonoma CA. I met a wonderful group of very interesting and talented women plus one man was in attendance. I stayed over an extra day and Kathleen and I visited the di Rosa Gallery and we came away thinking we were two fairly conservative artists. I think my blinged out boot might be appropriate here after I get through wearing it. 



There were two "collaged cars" in the exhibit. It was amazing what you could find attached to the car with careful observation. My trusty black boot lost a little bling during the many arrivals and departures during this California trip so I had to retouch some of the bling on my boot and yes, I think it would fit in the landscape at di Rosa.
Kathleen and I said our goodbyes at a leisurely Italian lunch at Della Santina's Trattoria on the Sonoma square. Oh what a treat after this exciting workshop. You enter a gated entry and a brick walkway and quickly are transported back to Italy. The patio is covered in grape vines and wisteria and the food and wine are excellent. Later Kathleen journeyed to Chalk Hill Winery to paint on site and exhibit other paintings. The exhibit will hang until mid January.


Slideshow from the workshop:


Kathleen Elsey Sonoma Workshop - slideshows

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Friday, October 21, 2011

Kathleen Elsey Workshop 2, Day 3, Sonoma, CA ~ Kunde Winery ~ Texas Daily Painter Nancy Standlee

"Kunde Winery"
9x12 acrylic on birch panel 

I'm back home in Texas writing around a mail cluttered kitchen table between a mix of California and Texas time and wanting to paint but know there are other agenda items. I'm not rushing into anything just going to gently ease back into the schedule.
So what do I think about plein air? It would certainly be a go if painting in beautiful Sonoma climate of 70 and 80 degrees with these magnificent pastoral scenes. As I examine the above painting I find the white rose bush is almost as large as the crepe myrtle tree and it will need a little "pruning". Each vineyard has an abundance of rose plants in every color protecting each row partly tradition and as an early disease warning. In humid areas the roses and vines are susceptible to certain mildew and fungal diseases with the rose being the more delicate and the disease will show up in the rose first. 
We painted at the Kunde Family Estate Winery and it was a pleasure and we were invited to the tasting room for a complementary wine tasting about noon. My turkey sandwich tasted pretty blah after wine and chocolate. 

To see more of Kathleen's work and workshop dates visit her website HERE. 

It can be very challenging to paint outdoors but when the weather cooperates and a few friends are in shouting distance it was a thrill and a treasured memory. 
Painting advice from Kathleen Elsey, our instructor. "Fix your biggest problem first." Also she likes to start with fresh colors each day. I didn't and loaded up my palette early back in the motel room before we went out and used off the same mixtures all three days. In fact, I had enough paint left over to tone extra boards late one night before I left. I wrapped each board with a piece of parchment paper so the gesso/or painted panels would not stick together. Kathleen advised  not to rush into our painting but bond with the land, walk around, look through view finders, take some photos, sketch thumbnails and value sketches.

Equipment:
I am using the EasyL Pro from Art Essentials. When I painted in Santa Fe with Niki Gulley she was using one and recommended it and the Masterson Sta Wet Palette sits on top.





Here is the22"  rolling back pack from Costco by Ful I used as a carry on and put the wooden box in it and carried the tripod in the checked luggage along with all the paints that I put in a Glad plastic storage bowl with more plastic. With a broken foot, I knew I'd want to sit a lot so I loved my new camp chair by GCI. 
I decided on 1/4" birch plywood panels, 4 x 8 sheets, for the support to paint on that Niki liked also as they are lightweight. My neighborhood Home Depot, N. Arlington #554, was so kind and cut them for me in 8x10, 9x12, 11x14, 12x16. I sanded the edges slightly and gessoed each one with the Utrecht's Pro gesso.
I also had a backpack as my "purse" with laptop and ticket, etc. in it and a 29" piece of luggage so I was so appreciative of the wheelchair help provided by American Airlines.

This is the easel Kathleen likes. It's a Soltek.



We painted at Oak Hill Farms on Sunday and I posted the painting on my blog. I wrote and asked the name of the magenta plant that was so beautiful.  Stacey Tuel replied it is amaranth as in the grain and they grow it as an ornamental. Check out their blog with my painting included. Thanks again for hosting our group.

On Monday we painted at the Matanzas Creek Winery and I think I failed to give the link. There are some lovely photos of the lavender on the link.

In the next post I'll try to add a slide show of some of the students paintings from the 3 days plein air. Thanks for visiting my blog and check out Sonoma wine country. It is a beautiful place with friendly people.
CONTEMPORARY FINE ART, ACRYLIC PAINTING. ARTISTS OF TEXAS BLOG, NANCY STANDLEE, CONTEMPORARY ABSTRACT ACRYLIC PAINTING, PAINTINGS FOR SALE, DAILY PAINTWORKS, FIGURATIVE PAINTING. MIXED MEDIA FIGURATIVE ABSTRACT, TEXAS DAILY PAINTER, MIXED MEDIA ABSTRACT PAINTING, PLEIN AIR, SONOMA, CA, KATHLEEN ELSEY
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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Kathleen Elsey Workshop 2, Day 2 ~ Sonoma CA ~ Plein Air ~ by Texas Daily Painter Nancy Standlee

"Lavender Fields"
11x14 acrylic on board, plein air

 
I don't think I've ever been to a lavender field before besides trying to paint the plants. Some of these plants had already been harvested and they were more shaped like our Texas tumbleweeds but with color. This painting will probably have some additional touches later. Our location on day 2 was the Matanzas Creek Winery in Santa Rosa, about 16 miles from Sonoma. The view was fantastic.

Each morning at 9:00 a.m. we met at the La Haye Art Center in the sculptor's studio to discuss the previous day's work and to give the day's location. The day ended at 3:00 with a short meeting back at the studio. In the morning we'd leave our gear in the car and bring a sketch pad for notes and directions. Kathleen would give us our little pep talk about how to be expressive, loosen up, and use interesting brushwork with us in agreement until we got to the site and wonder, "Now what did Kathleen say?" By then she'll call us over for a short demo and then we'd have another shot of enthusiasm for the day's painting. On the way out of town stops were made at the Sonoma Market for a sandwich to go or a quick visit to the well stocked Fine Line Art Store for a needed art supply. 

 The Group photo was taken on Day 3. Fifteen students were from Arizona, Florida, South Carolina, Texas and California.
 Kathleen with her Lavender Field painting. The painting started as a demo and she finished it after class.

Even the bath room walls at the La Haye art center were painted.

Materials:
Paints: I brought Winsor Newton acrylics with Golden Retarder to use in a Masterson Sta-Wet Palette with a sponge. I filled the palette in the motel room and left the tubes in the car just in case I needed a refill. Kathleen recommended we squeeze a "worm" of retarder on the top of each paint mound in the palette and since Sonoma was in the 70's and 80's that worked very well. The colors remained workable for 3 days. On another post I'll discuss other supplies and gear.

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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Kathleen Elsey Workshop 2, Day 1 ~ Sonoma CA ~ Plein Air ~ by Texas Daily Painter Nancy Standlee

"Oak Hill Farms"
11x14, acrylic on board

 Nancy Plein Air Painting in Sonoma CA

 Kathleen Elsey

During the 4 day workshop with Kathleen Elsey in April in Santa Barbara, I knew I would like to take another one from her, especially in Sonoma. I'm experimenting with plein air again after the Santa Fe workshop with Niki Gulley. Years and years ago I lived in California for a short time but had never made it to the wine country and Sonoma is a wine and travel destination with over 17 miles of beautiful pastoral scenes and the birthplace of the CA wine industry. So it made for a great choice for a plein air experience, Santa Fe and Sonoma. I might could even make a painting with such beautiful scenery choices in a 3 day workshop plein air in Sonoma.
On Sunday morning after a get acquainted meeting with 13 other students,  Kathleen gave us our driving directions and we had a delightful day of painting at Oak Hill Farms. I will post a slide show from the day at a later post. It was a perfect day, perfect weather, perfect companions, and perfect instructor, perfect location. 
Why am I making such a point of this being worth the trip? At times I really doubted my sanity at trying to make this trip with one broken left foot in a big black blinged out boot, my 76th birthday looming this month, and the amount of equipment I would have to bring. I'll show the supplies I chose in another blog post also. First obstacle there was an American gate change at DFW from A15 to where I arrived to C36, about 20 miles away (in one broken foot miles). What I thought would be a leisurely DFW breakfast turned into no breakfast with a mad dash on the handicap tram to reach my gate just as boarding began. I chose to fly into Sacramento and make the 70 or so mile drive to Sonoma with the first stop as soon as possible at a Denny's for eggs and toast the middle of the afternoon. Sacramento airport has just gotten a big new face lift and there is quite a hike from unloading to baggage, with a ride on a little bullet train, down a glass elevator to baggage but American had a wheelchair waiting as I hobbled off the plane. It was amusing as the strong young man picked up an older gentlemen and I to wheel to our destination (one in each hand) and he kept trying to give the other passenger one of my two bags. I was loaded down with a big back pack and a 22" wheeled backpack and they were both stacked in my lap and every time the angel pushing man would try to share my load the man would say "I don't know her". I finally got my point across these were indeed my two bags, the other wheel chair person and I were not acquainted and just load them up in my lap and we'll go. Fortunately the car rental bus was right outside baggage claim and with more good strong men to hoist heavy bags. Then it was a matter of finding my car, loading it up, turning on the gps, finding some breakfast on the way, finding the motel and questioning still if I've made the right decision. On Sunday painting with new friends out on the Oak Hill Farm, Yes.. it was worth the trip. What a beautiful day. 

To see more of Kathleen's work and workshop dates HERE is the link to her website.

CONTEMPORARY FINE ART, ACRYLIC PAINTING. ARTISTS OF TEXAS BLOG, NANCY STANDLEE, CONTEMPORARY ABSTRACT ACRYLIC PAINTING, PAINTINGS FOR SALE, DAILY PAINTWORKS, FIGURATIVE PAINTING. MIXED MEDIA FIGURATIVE ABSTRACT, TEXAS DAILY PAINTER, MIXED MEDIA ABSTRACT PAINTING, ACRYLIC PLEIN AIR PAINTING
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Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Torn Paper Collage Workshop ~ Graham TX ~ Old Post Office Museum and Art Center by Texas Daily Painter Nancy Standlee


These are two torn paper collages of my children that were used as examples in the Torn Paper Collage at the Old Post Office Museum and Art Center, Graham, TX, October 7 and 8th.My demo which is not finished is of my third child and oldest.  Cindy Parker, one of the Canvas by Canvas members, and her husband, Danny were instrumental in getting this workshop together. 
Cindy used to live in Arlington and she would take us everywhere in her SUV and we loved riding with her because she never got mad when we gave her wrong directions. She is a great painter and was always willing to help one of us with our drawing and she was a hard CBC worker. One day we went to Graham to hang a show, these two (Cindy and Danny) were introduced, their eyes locked on each other, she stopped working, forgot all about us and began a wonderful new life.These two were soon married, she moved to Graham and we don't feel like we've lost her but gained a whole new set of Graham friends through the Parkers. Canvas by Canvas will have a spring show at the museum. 
Paper was just not the medium for Danny as he likes to work in welded metal sculpture and uses random pieces of metal and found art. He has had several solo shows in the area.

 Two of Danny Parker's Sculpture
 
My next two day collage workshop will be in Granbury November 29 and 30. If you are interested sign up with Diana Littlejohn littlejohndj@charter.net. You don't have to be an artist to attend, but a good attitude willing to take a risk and experiment and enjoy tearing and gluing paper while learning a new technique. Also drop by the Shanley House and see the Fall Festival Juried Show sometime during the month. I have 3 pieces in the show and won honorable mention with one.

The Arlington Museum of Art presents the annual Artist's Showcase and the 6 week exhibit celebrates the vitality of visual art in the metroplex during October and November.The exhibit is varied in media and subject matter and works by amateur and professional artists from the community can be seen in the Main Gallery and Mezzanine. It is located at 201 West Main in Arlington. I have 2 pieces in the show.
Below is a slide show from Smilebox of some of the images from the collage workshop and my first time to use this program. I had used slide.com but they are not in business anymore. The music can be muted.

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Thursday, October 6, 2011

Red Abstract ~ Carolyn Riegelman Workshop ~ by Texas Daily Painter Nancy Standlee

"One Common Thread"
Red Acrylic Abstract with Texture Triptych on Canvas
2 12"x12" and 1 30"x24"

 If you get a chance to take a Carolyn Riegleman workshop, drop what you're doing and go sign up. The first 15 minutes of her first demo had us all slack jawed at her paint application. You can really do that? You are using what to paint with? Is that a squeegee?  She has a very irreverent use of her art supplies. If it comes in a can, tube, jar, or  squirt bottle with paint somewhere in the title she will attempt to use it and apply it directly. Forget your palettes and big fancy brushes. I think she brought one brush and lots of big spatulas, a step up from palette knives. She paints in textured layers and has at least 3 paintings going at once so the paint application can dry on one while she's painting on the other two and then she repeats the process and sometimes completely obliterates what was previously put down. For 4 days last week I was in Granbury throwing and slinging paint with this lucky group. What a great time we had and a special thanks to all who helped me unload and load because of the "boot".

Carolyn called the above piece I did "the Carolyn knock-off" and I have to agree. All summer I've wanted to paint a red painting and if you'll look at her website you'll see she does lots of red paintings. I took this to the Arlington Museum of Art Saturday for the Community Art Showcase. They only hung the bottom section as the chairman said she couldn't deal with a triptych in this show but drop by and check it out if you want to see a red painting with lots of texture.

 Our very productive class of 14 students painted 67 pieces of art.

 Carolyn and Nancy

 Carolyn and her showpiece we all loved. She sold the piece to the left.

I was planning on preparing a slide show of the students work but slide.com is no longer in operation so I will need to find another source for slide shows before I can post the class paintings.

TEXAS DAILY PAINTER, MIXED MEDIA PAINTING, ABSTRACT PAINTING, CONTEMPORARY FINE ART, ACRYLIC PAINTING. ARTISTS OF TEXAS BLOG, NANCY STANDLEE, CONTEMPORARY ABSTRACT ACRYLIC PAINTING, PAINTINGS FOR SALE, DAILY PAINTWORKS, ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM,

Contact: NancyStandlee@sbcglobal.net